Technical Bravo 1.4 SX

Currently reading:
Technical Bravo 1.4 SX

mercanlandy

New member
Joined
Sep 30, 2006
Messages
19
Points
8
Location
Southport
Hi, I have just bought a Bravo 1.4 SX for my son. It is a 1996 model, is it fuel injection or carb ?

Without removing parts to look it is not very obvious ( I am not a mechanic). It does not say on the back of the car and I only have bits of the V5 docs.

It has brake drums on rear not discs/pads.

I have had several Tipo's and my 1.4 carb model used to fly along, but the Bravo is quite flat unless it needs a good service.
:)
All advice welcomed.
 
It is flat for a 1.4 engine (and fuel hungry!). As Dave says though, it needs lots of TLC to keep it happy, perhaps that would help, don't know until you try :) If he hasn't gotten too attached to it yet, could you consider switching it for a 1.2? :eek:
 
dave said:
welcome :) its injection, watch that engine its a dog, the oil feeds for the cam get blocked, then it kills the cam

After about how many miles will this happen?

Does it depend on oil type?

Zardo
 
im afraid there right ive got 1.4 sx 98 and had nothin but problems mate had a new cam fitted and think im due for another soon get rid mate or ur hand will never be out ov ur pocket
 
does it depend more on car age than car mileage?

I've got a 1,4 SX engine which has run 145 000 km for over 10 years without any engine problems. I did oil changes with high quality low friction oil + filter change every 20 000 km - 25 000 km. The car is used mainly for long travel distances (about 100 to 300 km). Oil is never changed by aspiration.
I did a sump change recently which hopefully will decrease the risk of those oil tubes getting blocked.

Zardo
 
depends more on servicing and type of use. a badly serviced car that does short journeys around town won't last long. a well serviced car that does mainly motorway miles should last a lot longer. if engine flush is used at every service, only fully synthetic oil is used, the oil flinger bar in the head is cleaned at every service, and the oil pickup in the sump is given a better filter, the engine will last longer then me. you can take an oil pickup filter from another car, the ford escort 1.3hcs had a good one that seems to do a good job. i've worked on a few old hcs heads and i'm always surprised by how clean they are compared to many heads.
 
Iv'e got a 1.4. I've bought another oil feed pipe. I keep one in a bath of parafin, and one obviously in the car. I then alernate them when i service the car. It don't need servicing every 3,000 miles I do myn between 6-8,000 miles, and it seems happy enough. Also oil type is very important. Selenia do an oil especially for the 1.4 which I buy off www.shop4parts.co.uk I think its £18.00.
 
Last edited:
1996 1.4 - 72k miles and regularly serviced- Serviced my car today after reading these posts and panicking a little! I change mine every 4-5 k with a full engine flush. How hard is it to change the oil feed pipe? Anyone got diagrams they could share? If it's pretty straightforward, I may as well get a spare.
 
Don't be too despondent about having a 1.4.

I've done 40K in mine with only routine servicing and one brake pipe failure (er and a new thermostat, and new front shock absorbers, and a new exhaust). Its got 65k on it, and does 35mpg. Not a fast car though.

All you need to do is change the oil frequently, I do mine every 7 or 8k. There's a couple of old Tipos knock about my locality badged 1.4i.e., so I don't think the 1.4 runs into trouble with the oil feed pipe unless you're lax with the servicing.
 
I dunno, you tell me, that was my first post on this forum! I've always presumed it is the same engine.
 
I'd be really careful ... I wasn't aware that the 1.4 was a rough engine when I bought one and only a couple of months down the line and BAM! ... Cylinder head needed reconditioning and the whole engine rebuilding. Wasn't cheap either but I couldn't afford another car so I'm stuck with it now! But haven't had any real problems since (only minor electrical faults ... not engine related)
 
Back
Top